Stocks closed near session highs Monday, as the S&P 500 (^GSPC) notched its best three-day run in a rip-roaring 2024. Wall Street continued to build on an end-of-week surge precipitated by a softer-than-expected jobs report that helped spur bets toward an earlier rate cut from the Federal Reserve.
The S&P 500 gained 1%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) rose 1.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) increased almost 0.5%.
Stocks extended their rally from the end of last week, getting a boost from a “Goldilocks” jobs report that struck the balance in providing welcome news for both the markets and the Fed. More than two-thirds of bets are now on a September rate cut from the Fed, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. Most traders now expect at least two cuts by the end of the year.
Those bets could be swung by the return of Fedspeak, now that free-speaking Fed officials are untethered from a pre-meeting blackout period.
On Monday, New York Fed president John Williams said officials will make rate cut decisions based on the totality of incoming data. Williams assured eventually “we’ll have rate cuts,” but for now monetary policy is in “a very good place.”
Also on Monday, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond president Thomas Barkin expressed optimism that inflation will come down to 2% as “the full impact of higher rates is yet to come.”
Minneapolis’s Neel Kashkari is set to speak on Tuesday.
In corporate news, Disney (DIS) will take center stage this week as earnings season starts to wind down. Its stock is up more than 25% so far this year.
After a 6% post-earnings rally on Friday, Apple (AAPL) shares lost around 0.9% after Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett revealed over the weekend the company had pared its holdings in the iPhone maker.
Boeing (BA) sank more than 1% in afternoon trading after the the Federal Aviation Administration said it has launched a new probe into the aircraft maker’s 787 Dreamliner after the company revealed to regulators last month it may not have completed the required inspections.
A Boeing spokesperson told Yahoo Finance, “we promptly notified the FAA and this is not an immediate safety of flight issue for the in-service fleet.”
